DIY Websites vs Professional Development – Weighing the Pros and Cons

There is a large number of websites nowadays that allow business owners to create their own website for a nominal monthly fee. While they offer many advantages to people who don’t want to spend on professional websites, they do have their own set of limitations. In this article, we’re going to explore the pros and cons of aDIY website versus having your site professionally designed.

Pros of DIY Websites

One of the prime reasons people choose to go for DIY websites is because of budget limitations. If you’re only trying to set up a simple website for your business or a non-profit cause, then going for a DIY solution might be the best for you. Many DIY website building services have pre-set themes for small businesses or e-commerce websites with small inventories.

Another great advantage of DIY website services is that they’re usually very easy to use and have beginners in mind. Most of them have a drag and drop system that allows anybody with even the smallest amount of HTML knowledge to have a pretty decent website up in no time.

Websites also require people to have at least some knowledge of programming and hosting. If you’re going for a self-hosted service, most of the trouble is taken care of for you. And if you’re ready to do your homework and learn the basics of HTML, you could even take it a step further and create your own website from scratch using a platform like WordPress for instance. WordPressallows more flexibility and freedom compared to self-hosted DIY website services. It also tends to have a more professional look.

Cons of DIY Websites

However, while DIY websites can be great for a certain set of individuals, they might not be the best suited for your needs. For instance, one of the biggest drawbacks of DIY website packages is that the websites could look very generic. You don’t want your site to look like it’s self-hosted, especially when you’re trying to establish a serious brand.

DIY web design services simply don’t allow for the same level of functionality as a professionally designed website. If you had a specific idea for a website, you may be limited by the options provided by the service provider.

Another major issue with DIY websites is SEO. SEO plays a major role in web design nowadays and a poorly designed website or one that is not SEO friendly can really hurt your site’s visibility with search engines. DIY packages often offer very basic SEO tools and are limited as to how much you can tweak the code to make your site perform better, which could be a major issue in the long run.

As you can see, DIY packages are far from perfect and you should really evaluate your options before you decide to go down that route. If you’re trying to build a simple website and are strapped for cash then this might a viable short term solution, but you should eventually aim to have a custom website designed by a professional if you want to take your business to the next level.